"Numerical" Miracles in the Quran: Reality or Illusion?

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.

The Numerical Miracle in the Quran: Fact or Fiction?

Dear brothers, I was recently visiting a friend, and he told me that his daughter was assigned by her teacher to bring examples of the numerical miracle in the Quran. The girl searched the internet and found many examples, such as the word "day" recurring 365 times in the Quran, the word "month" 12 times, and that 99 (the number of Allah's beautiful names) multiplied by 63 (the number of years of the Prophet's life, peace be upon him) gives the total number of verses in the Quran, and so on.

Verifying Numerical Claims

So, my friend said to me: I told her, come on, let's check if this information is correct or not? He said: We searched in a program called "Ayat." If you type "Ayat" (AYAT) on Google Play, you will find a very useful, excellent program. This program, my brothers, you can put in it "day" and it will show you all the verses containing the word "day," "month" will show you all the verses containing the word "month," whether it's "month," "months," or "a month," and so on.

Our friend said: All the information is wrong! All the information that is widely circulated on the internet, and unfortunately, by some famous people who talk about the numerical miracle and the scientific miracle in the Quran in general, he said: All the information we came across was wrong.

I went with my friend, and indeed, we found this program and searched for the number of verses containing the word "month," for example, and indeed, the claim was false. The number is not twelve as some claim.

The Danger of Spreading Incorrect Information

It becomes like an undisputed fact. Because, my friends, some might say: Brother, it doesn't matter, it's not a problem, because if the information is not correct, it doesn't benefit, so it doesn't harm. No, by Allah, my brothers, it harms and harms a lot.

First, remember the saying of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him: "What sky will shade me and what earth will carry me if I say something about the Book of Allah without knowledge?" It is not permissible for a person to spread something about the Quran without verification and confirmation. Because if it doesn't benefit, it doesn't harm, but people love the Book of Allah. No, my friends, this talk sometimes turns into doubt and disbelief. To this extent? Yes, by Allah, to this extent, doubt and disbelief.

Now, if the student is critical, he might say: Okay, so what did you do? Can a writer compose a book and match the number of words for night and day, for example? Yes, he can. Can a writer come up with a book and make the number of words "month" twelve? Yes, he can. This is not something that challenges humans from Allah to be called a miracle.

The Impact of False Claims on Faith

The problem for the child who thinks this way is that he might not say to the teacher or the professor: Sir, I am not convinced. No, he keeps it in his heart that the evidence of our religion is of this kind, that our religious evidence is weak.

This friend says: And we search and I find, meaning among the articles that talk about the numerical miracle and praise be to Allah, I see the number of times the word "day" and the word "night" appear, he said: And we search and I come across an article by atheists. These atheists mock Muslims and lie to them, unfortunately, they lie to them this time, and the great sadness is that they lie to those who claim this false call, otherwise, Islam is innocent of this call.

He said: They cast doubt in a way that shakes the faith of the superficial person who does not know the foundation of his faith.

A Call to Teachers

Therefore, dear sisters and brothers, I say to our sisters the teachers and our brothers the teachers: By Allah, fear Allah, fear Allah. We bring our children to you to protect them, teach them, and raise them, so will your guide be Google? Meaning, my niece went to the teacher, the teacher said: No, the information is correct, come and see Google. My friends, is Google a source? Is Google an evidence of our Islam? Our knowledge?

Say: "Bring your proof if you are truthful." We need proof, evidence, and argument, and praise be to Allah, we are not in need of fabrication, lying, or these false claims. For we have convincing evidence that satisfies and suffices every person of sound mind, as we have explained and will continue to explain in the journey of certainty by the grace of Allah the Almighty, and as we will come with the detailed, long, and enjoyable discussion by the permission of Allah on the issue of proving that the Quran is from Allah the Almighty.

Fatwa of Islam Question and Answer on Numerical Miracle

So, my friends, let us be precise and verify and not spread this talk. And I strongly advise you to read a fatwa on the Islam Question and Answer website. May Allah relieve you, Sheikh Muhammad al-Munajjid, and make all this talk part of your deeds. IslamQA, you will find Islam Question and Answer. Write: "Numerical Miracle." The numerical miracle discusses the issue in a fundamental and clear manner that there is nothing called a numerical miracle, and much of what is claimed to be correct or claimed to be the number of occurrences of the word day, night, days, and day is unfortunately false. And even if it is correct, this means a nice thing from the niceties and is not called a miracle, and may Allah the Almighty spare us from such things with clear, decisive, and bright evidence for those who seek guidance.

The Importance of Verification and Avoiding Schizophrenia

I wanted to share this benefit with you and remind my brothers and sisters, the teachers and teachers, that our children are a trust in your necks. Be aware, my friends, sometimes the lack of verification, as we mentioned, leads to doubt and disbelief.

And be aware that some people, the visionaries, those who say: It is necessary to separate your religious convictions from your scientific convictions. Meaning, in other words, live with schizophrenia, live in a state of dissociation. Unfortunately, they fell into this mistake why? Because they were influenced by such fantasies or such falsehoods. Some thought one day that yes, there is a numerical miracle and built their faith on it, so when they discovered that nothing of this is correct, their faith was shaken, and consequently, he says: What is the solution? The solution is to separate my religious convictions from my scientific convictions. As if this fabrication or these falsehoods are religious convictions, and they are not religious convictions nor attributed to religion, but our methodology: "Say, bring your proof if you are truthful."

This is what I wanted to share with you in this haste. And may Allah bless you and accept from us and from you. And to everyone who says peace be upon you and upon you peace and the mercy of Allah, and to everyone who says may Allah reward you well and you, my brother and sister. And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.